Steven W. Flavell

Steven W. Flavell, Ph.D.

Investigator
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Associate Professor
The Picower Institute for Learning Memory
Department of Brain and Cognitive Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Office: 46-4243
Phone: (617) 715-2605
flavell@mit.edu / PubMed / Google Scholar / HHMI

Short biography

Steve Flavell is an Associate Professor at MIT and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His lab is located in the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. Steve received his B.A. From Oberlin College and his Ph.D. from Harvard University, where we worked with Dr. Michael Greenberg. Before arriving at MIT, Steve worked as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Cori Bargmann’s lab at Rockefeller University. Research in the Flavell Lab is aimed at deciphering the fundamental neural mechanisms that underlie the generation of long-lasting behavioral states. This work primarily focuses on the neuromodulatory systems that control arousal, motivation, and mood across organisms. Steve’s work has uncovered novel molecular mechanisms that allow signals from the gut to activate neuromodulatory systems, as well as circuit-level mechanisms by which neuromodulator release alters neural circuit dynamics. Steve’s work has been recognized by numerous national awards, including the Weintraub Graduate Student Award, Helen Hay Whitney Fellowship, NARSAD Young Investigator Award, NSF CAREER Award, Sloan Research Fellowship, McKnight Scholars Award, and an HHMI Investigator appointment.

Curriculum Vitae

Education and Training

Postdoctoral, Rockefeller University, New York NY, 2009-2015

Ph.D. in Neurobiology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA, 2009

B.A. in Neuroscience with Highest Honors, Oberlin College, Oberlin OH, 2002

Research and Experience

Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Research Focus: Neural mechanisms for persistent behaviors
2024 – Present

Associate Professor, Picower Institute, Dept of Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Research Focus: Neural mechanisms for persistent behaviors
2021 – Present

Assistant Professor, Picower Institute, Dept of Brain & Cognitive Sciences
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Research Focus: Neural mechanisms for persistent behaviors
2016 – 2021

Postdoctoral Fellow (Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow)
Rockefeller University/HHMI, New York, NY
Research Advisor: Cornelia Bargmann, PhD
Research Focus: Neuromodulatory control of sustained behavioral states in C. elegant
2009 – 2015

Ph.D. Student, Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Research Advisor: Michael Greenberg, PhD
Research Focus: Activity-regulated MEF2 transcription factors control synapse development
2003 – 2009

Undergraduate Thesis, Department of Neuroscience, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
Research Advisors: Michael Loose, PhD (Oberlin) and Karl Herrup, PhD (CWRU)
Research Focus: Role of cell cycle re-entry in cell death in Alzheimer’s Disease
2001 – 2002

Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) Fellowship
Dept. of Neuroscience, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland OH
Research Advisor: Karl Herrup, PhD
Research Focus: Role of cell cycle re-entry in cell death in Alzheimer’s Disease
2001

Research Assistant, Dept. of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven CT
Research Advisor: Pasko Rakic, MD, PhD
Research Focus: Role of Notch signaling in neurite outgrowth
2000

Academic Honors
  • HHMI Investigator, 2024
  • BCS Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring, 2024
  • Sloan Research Fellowship, 2021
  • McKnight Scholars Award, 2020
  • BCS Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring, 2019
  • NSF CAREER Award, 2019
  • Named Lister Brothers Career Development Assistant Professor, 2018
  • NARSAD Young Investigator Award, 2017
  • Newton Brain Science Award, 2016
  • Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2010
  • Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 2008
  • Certificate of Distinction in Teaching Award, Harvard University, 2006
  • Albert J. Ryan Fellowship, Harvard University, 2005
  • Highest Honors in Neuroscience, Oberlin College, 2002
  • Nancy Robell Memorial Endowed Prize in Neuroscience, Oberlin College, 2002
  • Summer Program for Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Case Western Reserve University, 2001
Publications

For a list of all our published papers please our publications page.